Checkmate
by HoVis
Summary: Artemis Fowl has no time for love, and no time for being a child. He needs no-one. Then someone changes his mind, and his life is turned upside down - but what will happen when the LEP get in involved? Chapter Four Uploaded. An ArtemisOC paring.
1. Chapter One: Shocks and Surprises

A/N: Ok... I know I've got my other Artemis Fowl fic, "I, Artemis", going on, but I have just read the Eternity Code (which I hadn't when I wrote it) and realised that it was going nowhere. I may pick it up at another time, but this fic has been begging to be written ever since I finished EC. This is set after EC, and starts with our favourite Mud-Boy at school... and a mysterious teenage human-fairy hybrid. What will happen when the two meet? Will Artemis regain his memories? And what will happen when the LEP needs his help? Reviews are greatly appreciated, but I'll leave the begging for a later chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl. I don't own Holly, Foaly, or Julius Root. I don't own Mulch Diggums, Butler, or either of "Arty's" parents. In fact, I don't own any of he characters who are likely to pop up in this story. The only things I own are the plot (which is, as usual, unplanned), and that mysterious girl I mentioned earlier.  
  
WARNING: This is a Artemis/OC pairing. I might pair off Root with someone, because I think he deserves a little loving. There is also likely to some angst, as I can't resist depressing my readers, and annoying them with horrible cliffys. Anyone who doesn't like soppy, romantic angst had better go out the door. There will also be Butler with his lovely Sig Saucer. You have been warned.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Artemis Fowl scowled as he half-listened to his science teacher drone on about the anatomy of flowers and other equally boring subjects. Around him, his classmates were either snoring softly, passing notes, or staring off into space with vacant expressions on their faces.  
Well, you could hardly blame them. It was pretty boring. And Artemis knew it all anyway, and much more besides. He could easily have taught the lesson himself. So, he didn't bother listening. Instead he was thinking. And when Artemis Fowl thought, it was generally about some genius plot or other. But today he wasn't plotting. Today he was deciphering – deciphering a mystery which had been plaguing him for weeks, ever since the day he'd woken up with the strange feeling that he did not belong, that something was missing. And then he found a pair of reflective contact lenses in his eyes. There was only one thing it could be. A conspiracy. Against him. Against Artemis Fowl the Second. Someone was plotting to do – something – to Artemis and his allies. And he was determined to find out what, and who was behind it all. And when Artemis Fowl sets his mind to something, it is generally guaranteed that he will achieve his goal. He was, after all, a genius. Who could stand in the way of someone like that? *  
  
Captain Holly Short scowled as she looked at the teenage girl before her.  
"You want me to train a human to be a LEP officer?" She stared at Commander Julius Root incredulously. Root's face went brick red – though this was, of course, nothing unusual.  
"She's no human, Holly. She's half-fairy." He glanced nervously at the girl, and she grinned.  
"That's right." She nodded, flashing Holly a cheerful grin. Holly gave Root a disbelieving look.  
"Isn't that suppose dot be against the law, Commander? A fairy and a human... uh... having a kid?" Root went even redder, and Holly frowned in confusion, glancing from the girl, who was grinning mischievously, and back to Root, who was looking as though he would have quite liked the ground to open up beneath him and swallow him whole. Then she looked closer at the young girl. She had dark brown, slightly auburn coloured hair, like Root's, eyes of a bluish grey hue, eerily similar to the commander's, and a fairly rosy sort of complexion... just like Root.  
"You – she's – your daughter?" Holly croaked, and Root winced.  
"You make that sound like it's bad thing." He said, looking pained. Holly glared at him for a long moment, before exploding.  
"ARE YOU A COMPLETE IDIOT, JULIUS! IF ONE OF US HAD A HALF-BREED BRAT - "  
"Captain Short!" Root glared at her, his face now beetroot-red. "Show some respect!" Holly fumed.  
"You want me to train her." Root nodded, relieved that Holly had decided to stop shouting.  
"Yes." Holly scowled again.  
"How do we know that she has enough magic? Surely her human half will have diluted that?" Root opened his mouth to reply, but the girl Holly now knew to be his daughter piped up before he could do so.  
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" The girl surveyed her with eyes which blazed with intelligence. "But my human genes, rather than diluting the magic, actually reinforces it, strengthens it." The girl grinned again, and glanced at her father, her eyes dancing with mischief. She leaned forward conspiratorially. "You know, I'm much better than Daddy at most magic." Holly raised an amused eyebrow and glanced back to Root, who was tapping his foot and trying to look innocent. He failed, miserably. Holly straightened up, smiling broadly.  
"Ok." She said firmly, and Root nodded, looking relieved.  
"Thankyou, Holly." He turned to his daughter. "Elanor – be good for Captain Short, won't you, darling?" Elanor rolled her eyes.  
"Dad! I'm not a baby anymore, you know!" Holly watched carefully, fascinated by the scene before her. She had never known Julius Root to talk to anyone in that way before – with tenderness, with fondness. The girl turned to Holly, practically brimming with excitement.  
"Come on then! What are we waiting for?" Holly smiled. Kids.  
  
*  
  
A/N: Ok... you know the drill. Review, don't flame, tell me what I can do to make it better, your ideas, what you think is going on... if you have anything to say, review it. It would be very much appreciated. 


	2. Chapter Two: Regrets of Yesterday

A/N: Thanks to all your lovely reviews, I have decided to post extra-early! I know a few of you had questions, particularly about Elanor's mother, and that will all be explained in time. I just like the idea of strict, regulation-loving Root having broken the biggest rule of all, and now having to deal with all the responsibilities of parenthood. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and even if you don't, please tell me what you think, and what I can do to improve it.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. In fact, I didn't even own the entire series of books until this afternoon.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
LEP mind-wipe Report: Artemis Fowl and Associates:  
  
Early this year three members of the LEP performed a selective mind wipe on the teenage genius Artemis Fowl, his manservant and bodyguard, Domovoi Butler, and Butler's younger sister, Juliet Butler. Artemis Fowl and his associates were wiped due to the unprecedented amount of trouble they have caused the People in the few years of their knowledge of us – in LEP's first encounter with the boy prodigy, he managed to separate us with half of our ransom gold - a feat which has never before, or after, been achieved. The mind-wipe was performed after the incident in which Fowl let slip knowledge of the people to a ruthless businessman and placed the future of the People in grave danger. (For a full report of this, and other Artemis Fowl incidents, see his file in the Marked Human LEP database). Every six months a fairy is sent to "visit" Artemis Fowl to ensure that his memories of the people have not been triggered. This has to be done with the utmost professionalism as any glimpse of a fairy could lead to the obsoletion* of the mind-wipe. The first "check-up" is to be performed within the week.  
  
*  
  
Commander Julius Root sighed as he stared blearily at the stacks of reports he still had to check and sign before the end of the day. Reluctantly, he picked up the topmost one, and sighed once again as he saw the name of his least favourite Mud-Boy at the top of the report. He was just in the process of checking it when the door to his study flew open and Captain Holly Short hurried in, gasping for breath.  
"Commander!" She gasped, her face etched with worry. "It's Ellie – she – magic – too strong – badly injured - " Holly didn't have to say anything more. Julius Root was already out of the door and on his way to the hospital. *  
  
"Dad, I'm fine." Elanor gave her father an icy glare as he fussed over her. Julius gave a doting smile.  
"I can't help but be worried, darling." He murmured, oblivious to the curious glances he and his daughter were attracting from staff and patients alike. They were in the fairy hospital – though many injuries could be fixed by magic, some were too serious, particularly for a fairy as inexperienced as young Elanor Root. Ellie sighed and leaned back onto her pillows.  
"I'm not sure I'm ready for this, Dad. I'm not sure I'm ready for magic." She said finally, and Root gave her an incredulous look.  
"What are you saying, Ellie? You want to go back to that orphanage you were staying at?" Up until a few months ago, Elanor had been staying at an orphanage for teenage girls – after having fallen deeply in love with Elanor's mother, and revealing himself to her, Julius Root had been forced to wipe her memories of him. Then Elanor had come along, and her mother had died in a boating accident when Elanor was a toddler. Root had only learned of the existence of his daughter a few years ago, when the LEP had been doing a routine check for any magic outside of the LEP's boundaries. Since then he had done everything in his power to get his daughter back – and now she was talking of leaving him again? Ellie shook her head.  
"You don't understand, do you, Dad?" She said sadly. "I don't belong here."  
"You don't belong up there, either! You're a fairy, Ellie! Not a Mud- Man!" Root protested desperately, but Ellie shook her head.  
"I'm neither. Dad, I'm not ready for this. I will be someday, but not just now." Root looked sadly into his daughter's eyes and knew what she said was true. He sighed heavily.  
"Then what to do?" Ellie shrugged, but then her eyes lit up, and the old twinkle of mischief returned to them.  
"I know – Dad, what about Artemis Fowl!" Root scowled. He hated any mention of the boy's name.  
"What about him?" He asked sulkily, and Ellie shot him a reproachful look, before drawing a deep breath.  
"You need to check that he's not regained any of his memories, right? Why don't you send me to the same school he's at? Then I'll be able to serve the LEP, get an education, and be with kids of my own age, all at the same time!" Root gave his daughter a long look. There were a hundred reasons why it was a bad idea. But Root defied any father to resist when their daughter gives them a look like the one Elanor was giving him – especially when that daughter is nearly twice as big as you are.  
  
*  
  
A/N: The word obseletion was made up. The computer didn't like it, anyway. Anyway, obsolete, obsoletion. You get the gist.  
  
Please tell me what you think – next chapter will have a bit more background on Elanor's past, and about her mother and the romance between her and Commander Root. I promise. 


	3. Chapter Three: Memories and Meetings

A/N: I would just like to take a moment to say a word to my lovely reviewers:  
  
Kingleby: Thanks!  
  
Till the fat lady sings: Thanks. I'll try and update as often as possible, I promise. Unfortunately I have a very hectic schedule!  
  
SupportTheOrange: Thankyou. Very... original pen name, by the way!  
  
LazyCat: Uh... thanks... I think. I really didn't know it was that cliched, I haven't looked at many Artemis Fowl fics.  
  
Tailan(Tails: Thankyou. I hope this is soon enough for you!  
  
Abbitha: Thanks, once again! You guys are just too nice!  
  
Sorry if I've forgotten anyone!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. As usual.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Commander Julius Root stared anxiously at the image on the monitor before him. Upon it was a tall, imposing building – Elanor's new school.  
"Ok." His daughter's voice filtered in through the speakers. She sounded uncharacteristically nervous. Root swallowed, wondering, not for the first time, if he had done the right thing in sending his daughter back to the Mud People.  
"Someone's supposed to be meeting me in a few minutes." She said. Beside him, Foaly gave Root a piercing look.  
"You alright?" He asked quietly, oddly subdued. Even Foaly realised that Root would not be able to stand up to any jibes, today of all days. Root shrugged.  
"I don't know." He said honestly. "It seems as though I'm abandoning her, that's all." Root spoke quietly, even though Elanor couldn't hear them – an earpiece would have been far too noticeable. So, whilst they could hear her, and see her point of view through the iris-cam she was wearing, she couldn't hear them. Foaly studied Root's face carefully. The Commander, usually so strong and confident, looked pale and concerned. Foaly didn't know what to say. He couldn't. Of all the things he knew, one of the few privileges he had been denied was a mate and a proper family. Centaurs were thin on the ground, and Foaly spent far too much time in the lab to have any time for courting. Sometimes he wondered if he'd made the right decision in putting his work first. He sighed. Not time for that now, though. The chance of him ever siring a foal was getting slimmer and slimmer as each day passed.  
"Julius?" he started hesitantly, and Root glanced up from staring at the monitor.  
"Yes?" he asked slightly testily, and Foaly took a deep breath, and asked the question which was on every fairy's lips;  
"Elanor... I've heard that she was at an orphanage before she came here." Root nodded, frowning, clearly unsure as to where the conversation was leading. Foaly took a deep breath and continued.  
"So where's her mother?" Foaly waited with baited breath for Root to reply. Either he was about to be shouted at and thrown out of the office, or he was about to become privy to the greatest secret of Julius Root's life. Root took a deep breath and began to speak.  
"She... she..." Root closed his eyes for a moment to regain his composure. "She was a writer, by the name of Katherine Lungbarrow." He said eventually, and Foaly lent forward eagerly. This was going to be good. "She loved fairytales, and believed in them as well. LEP were keeping tabs on her because of her... interest in anything relating to the fairy-folk. Every scrap of information on the People, however insignificant, she grabbed with both hands. I had been sent one day to "check her out" as it were. I had... uh... forgotten to perform the Ritual. I was low on magic, and was hovering in her apartment..."  
"Don't tell me." Foaly interrupted. "Your shield failed?" Root nodded heavily.  
"Of course, I tried to perform a mind-wipe, but she started talking to me... and caught my curiosity. She asked me to stay with her, for a time. She said she had been waiting to meet someone like me for her entire life. She knew, somehow, of our ability to wipe a person's mind, She begged me not to wipe her memory of me, she promised she would never tell a soul..." Foaly snorted in disbelief at this point.  
"And you agreed?" He asked incredulously, and Root shrugged, his cheeks reddening slightly, though this time it was in embarrassment rather than anger.  
"Well... she was extremely attractive." Root defended weakly, and Foaly grinned, leaning back in his chair.  
"But you still haven't explained how your daughter... uh..."happened". I take it you didn't just jump straight in bed with this woman?" Root glared at him, and Foaly grinned again. At last, the Commander Root he knew.  
"Of course not. I visited her every now and then, to make sure she had kept to her promise, under the pretence of needing to perform the Ritual or for work. One thing led to another, and... well..." Root gesticulated weakly. Foaly gave Root a slightly piercing look.  
"Did you love her?" Root gave him and amazed look.  
"What?" Foaly rolled his eyes.  
"It's a simple enough question, Julius. Did you love the woman or not?" Root frowned.  
"Of course I did." Root scowled dangerously, as though furious with himself. "Now get back to work." Foaly gave a short whinny of laughter, before being hastily pushed out of the office by an extremely angry Commander Julius Root.  
  
*  
  
Artemis' form teacher smiled suavely at the class.  
"Now, children, I have someone I would like you to meet." Artemis spared a moment to glance up at the extremely pretty girl by the teacher's side.  
"This is Elanor Root, and she has recently joined the school." There were a few murmurs of greeting from a few members of the class, but most of them couldn't be bothered. Artemis had returned to his plotting. The teacher gave a tight smile.  
"Now, Elanor, I believe there are a few places where you could sit... it's up to you. There is a space next to Miss Ferns here," She indicated a spare seat next to a tall girl with braids, who was gossiping with the girl behind her, "or one next to young Master Fowl over there." The teacher sniffed in a disapproving manner, and Artemis smirked from behind a book. He knew all too well what the teacher thought of him. And it wasn't nice.  
Elanor raised an eyebrow, thinking. Who should she try and make friends with – a girl who would probably talk about nothing but hair and makeup and bore her senseless, or the boy famous under the earth for being a genius equal even to Foaly? It didn't take her long to decide. Anyway, she wanted to find out what was so special about this Artemis Fowl. She grinned charmingly as she dumped her books on the desk beside him, and Artemis raised a cynical eyebrow.  
"You know, I'm not really the best study-mate." He said dryly, and Ellie grinned at him.  
"Don't worry. I'm sure you're not that bad." Elanor studied the boy beside her as she unzipped her pencil case. He was not unattractive – strangely pale, with raven-black hair which would have been flopping all over his face had it not been for the half pot of gel slicked into it. His uniform was neat and tidy, unlike the uniforms of most of the other boys in the classroom – clearly, Artemis did not use his blazer as an improvised football goalpost, nor dropped half his dinner down his neatly ironed shirt. Elanor smiled. The boy may have been the picture of business-like efficiency, but she sensed that, deep down, Artemis Fowl the Second was in fact a desperately lonely boy. And Elanor Root was determined to rectify that situation if it was the last thing she did.  
  
*  
  
A/N: Ok, I know I promised some romance, but things are gonna go fairly slow, l mean, love isn't always fast, is it? I'm hopefully going to have a bit of Artemis' parents, Butler, a bit of a surprise for Foaly, more on Root's past, and perhaps even some of everyone's favourite LEP captains: Holly Short and Trouble Kelp. (NOT as a couple. But it gonna be funny, I promise you that). So, please tell me what you think, and if you have any special requests for characters you want to see appearing! I will do my best to take all criticism with good grace and take your comments to mind.  
  
Byeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	4. Chapter Four: Let the Game Begin

A/N: I would just like to take a moment to respond to my reviewers:  
  
Bloody Dead Rose: I appreciate your comments, really I do. But I do not take kindly to have my work referred to as a "piece of slop". Or as "completely sickening". My writing has flaws, sure, I mean, are you the perfect writer? And please, give Elanor a chance, it's only chapter three after all – she's hardly had any time to give away any character flaws. I never said she was beautiful. Just pretty. There is a difference. An extremely BIG one. But I do see what you mean. Just you could have put it in a slightly nicer way, that's all. Oh, and the thing about her being stronger than a regular fairy – I'm going by the idea that humans do, to an extent, have their own form of "magic". You will understand, if you care to read on.  
  
Cecile li(): Thanks, I will try and make her a bit more "teenish" – in fact I'm going to have a lot of fun doing just that!  
  
Jane-doe49: Ok. I will try and address your problems one by one: a) Root OOC – there are a lot of hints in the books that Root was once, in fact, very much like Holly – impulsive, quirky. Though I see what you mean. I will try to explain that a bit more. Though you may have noticed that I've done just that in Chapter Three, to some extent. B) Artemis OOC – hey, give it a chance. I've hardly started yet. And what do you mean, "not the type to fall in love"? He's a teenager, for goodness sake. Puberty is wreaking havoc in his system. I know I'm not very good at sticking to the character, but you never know, we haven't even seen three paragraphs of Artemis yet. He's gonna be the same arrogant, annoying little brat we all know and love, as he was after the mind-wipe. But his involvement with the fairies is going to have affected him in ways he could never have imagined. C) Potential Mary-Sue - Ok, look up to my response to Bloody Dead Rose's review. I am doing my best not to make Elanor a Mary-Sue. As I said, she has hardly had enough time to show any character flaws. She's not amazingly beautiful – just pretty. Not an elegant rose, but a cute little daisy (ok, rubbish metaphor, I know). D) Holly OOC – Pixies, as Foaly mused at the end of the Eternity Code, are decidedly temperamental creatures. And Holly has just found out that her Commander has broken virtually every rule in the book. Therefore I think she has good reason to shout. And Root deserved it. E) I noticed that your review is to chapter One. Did you even glance at the other chapters before making these comments? You claim in your bio that you are a "constructive flamer". And yes, you have put all your comments in a polite manner, for which I thank you. But if you hadn't read the other available chapters, then how were you supposed to know fully my reasons behind Root's OOCness and Elanor's Mary-Sueness? I apologise profusely if you have read the other chapters. Thankyou for your help, and if I have "flamed you back" in any way, shape or form then I apologise.  
  
Phew! Now I've got all that out of the way, we can continue with the story!  
  
Disclaimer: I own Elanor. And I don't care if she is a Mary-Sue. She's still mine. And I like her, even if no one else does. Everything else belongs to Mr Eoin Colfer. Enough said.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Artemis scowled dangerously as Elanor laid her plate down next to him at the dinner table. He glanced at her – a shadow of a smile was playing at her lips.  
"What's so funny?" He asked sharply, his voice full of biting annoyance. Elanor grinned.  
"Oh, nothing." Artemis scowled and began shovelling food into his mouth.  
"In a rush?" Elanor asked dryly, and Artemis gave her a glare.  
"Yes." He said sharply. "Why aren't you sitting over there with all your girlie friends?" Elanor raised an eyebrow, taking a moment to idly flick a speck of dust off her painted nails.  
"I dunno." She shrugged. "I guess I thought you seemed more interesting." She flashed him a mischievous grin which he did not return.  
"Well, you can go annoy someone else then." He glared at her. "Go on then." Elanor looked furious, and for a moment, her famous Root temper flared up.  
"Fine then." She snapped, grabbing her tray as she stood up. "Fine." And she stormed off, leaving a cynically amused Artemis behind.  
  
*  
  
Elanor scowled as she entered the blissfully quiet darkness of her dormitory. She ran a hand through her stubbornly thick hair and swore under her breath. She glanced in the mirror and breathed a sigh of relief, Her bandanna was still safely in place, hiding her ever so slightly pointed ears. She had told the teacher that she had a scar beneath the bandanna which she was frightfully shy of showing anyone. Well, it was half true. She did have a scar there, received during the same boating accident which had claimed her mother's life, but she wasn't particularly vain about it. She knew she wasn't a stunner as far as the looks department went, and never would be. She would leave the idle hair flicking to the girls who could do so without looking stupid. She sighed, and glanced at her timetable for the afternoon. French and Science. Elanor groaned. Her two least favourite subjects – even though she had inherited the gift of tongues from her father, it still made her head spin. And Science was just as incomprehensible – she'd never understood half that stuff about circuits and elements, anyway.  
Elanor took a moment to glance at her watch. There was still half an hour left of lunchtime – more than enough time to take a quick sojourn with a little something borrowed from Foaly's labs...  
  
*  
  
Julius Root scowled furiously as he stared at the images coming from his daughter's iris-cam.  
"Stupid, stupid girl." He muttered. "Flying, in broad daylight. Stupid girl." Beside him, Foaly smirked.  
"Takes after you then, doesn't she?" He ducked as a small, booted foot was swung in his direction. Foaly grinned.  
"You'd better be careful, Julius. I'm pretty much indispensable, you know." Root shot him a venomous look. Root was all the more annoyed because Foaly was right. The centaur had practically created their underground city– and if anything happened to Foaly, then Haven went under as well.  
"And she was actually talking to Artemis Fowl! After all I've told her about that boy!" Foaly frowned theatrically.  
"Wasn't the whole point of her going to this school so that she could make sure that the mind-wipe had actually worked?" Root nodded, confused.  
"Yes. And?" Foaly sighed. Root may have been Recon's best ever officer, but he wasn't exactly the most intelligent fairy to have graced the uniform. All brawn, no brain.  
"Then surely she's going to have to talk to him if she wants to find that out?" Foaly said I an exasperated tone. Realisation dawned across Root's face.  
"Oh yes..." Foaly rolled his eyes.  
"Goodness, you're a bit of an Einstein, aren't you?" He guffawed. Unfortunately, this time Foaly forgot to duck.  
  
*  
  
A/N: Ok, I know it's a weak ending. I know it's short. Please tell me what you think – but nicely. Nasty flames will be used to cook my Sunday roast. Constructive ones will be considered carefully and acted upon. 


End file.
